


Here we go again...

by Suzanne_Ely



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-08 21:02:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11089869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzanne_Ely/pseuds/Suzanne_Ely
Summary: Cybermen are back and the Doctor gets a glimpse of his past while Bill and Nardole have to take charge.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the #12regenerates challenge on The Daily TARDIS Amino. The challenge was to imagine how the Twelfth Doctor would regenerate.

They asked me to look after him. Well, they didn’t say it like that, of course. They asked me to keep an eye on him and to ensure that he would guard the vault and not wander around saving the world twice before breakfast. I was flattered. Of all people, they asked “me”, Nardole. I felt important...until I realised that it was probably the worse assignment ever; that and the fact that no one else wanted the job. How do you prevent someone from saving the world when the world needs to be saved? Do they really expect me to become the bad guy in this story by preventing the Doctor from doing what he does best? Where were they when Cybermen appeared from nowhere to claim Earth and its inhabitants? No one moved a finger. They all looked the other way, hoping that the Doctor would save the world.

  
So yes, Cybermen again. Not their first time around, but this time it was different. They were different. I can tell that when the Doctor saw them, he was shaken. They looked...old. And they were, in a manner of speaking. They had put their hands on a time travel device and had used it to go back in time and prevent their planet to be destroyed. Sadly for them and luckily for Earth, they got it wrong and ended up in the future, unable to go back. That’s what their leader told us when we met. They had located the TARDIS thanks to its unusual time signature. They had a plan and we didn’t like it, especially the Doctor. They told us that they intended on stealing the TARDIS, go back in time and kill the Doctor who had defeated them and destroyed Mondas to save Earth.

  
The Doctor, our Doctor, wasn’t happy at all.


	2. Chapter 2

It goes like this: you meet the Doctor and next thing you know, a good half of the galaxy wants you dead. The guy has so many enemies that it’s hard to keep track. Daleks, Monks, Cybermen. According to Nardole, he has many more who go by strange names but it would take quite some time to make a proper list and time is something we don’t have. When a bunch of Cybermen came knocking at the door announcing that they were taking over the TARDIS and “please don’t resist, you’re going to become one of us”, I knew that we were in trouble. I didn’t thinkt that it would be even worse than what I had imagined. In case you wonder, Cybermen are not friendly. The Doctor told us that they were exhausting; so much in fact that he had to regenerate. Nardole had to explain the concept, because it turns out that my mind just can’t accept all of it. Aliens, time and space travel, two hearts, it’s a bit overwhelming. Plus I spend most of my time running for my life. That really doesn’t help me focus on things such as immortality 1.0.

  
Bottom line is: the Doctor said “no”. He wasn’t going to give away the TARDIS, he wasn’t going to let them mess with history and he was going to destroy them. I should have paid more attention. They obviously expected such an answer. When they attacked, I felt unprepared.   
“We will get rid of you, but it will be as if we did nothing since you will never have existed once we are done.”  
That’s when my brain sent me a very important reminder: from the conversation, I had gathered that Earth was to be destroyed so Mondas would live. Earthlings would be transferred to that planet and turned into Cybermen. Considering this all took place in 1986, according to Nardole, it meant that I would cease to exist.  
“No, you will never exist. There is a difference.”   
Nardole was right (again). So while the leader of the Cybermen was trying to strangle the Doctor, we decided to do something. We surrendered on the condition that the Doctor was to fly the TARDIS back in time.

  
The Doctor wasn’t happy at all.


	3. Chapter 3

How do you tell your companions that this is the end? That story keeps repeating itself and that I knew the outcome? As I was gasping for air, I saw the first stage of regeneration. My hand glowed faintly. This didn’t come as a surprise; I had been expecting it since I got blind. I had never been blind before. Blinded, yes, but blind? Now Cybermen were in town (again). Only this time, it felt like a bad dream coming back to haunt me. That’s how I knew for certain that it was the end. “His last bow” comes to mind. But not without a struggle. I wasn’t happy when Bill and Nardole surrendered to save me from being strangled (I really hate it when they try to strangle me. Do they realise how painful that is?) I saw Nardole wink and I knew that they had a plan. I’m still not very good at telepathy but I believe that I managed to do exactly what they expected me to do.   
I brought our guests back in time. We even agreed to act as hostages while they checked if I didn’t trick them.

They seemed satisfied enough that I brought them back in Antarctica in 1986.  
I remember whispering to Nardole and Bill: “When I say run, run!” I remember the burst of anger of the leader when he realised that I had brought him back only a few seconds before Mondas’ destruction.  
“RUN!”

  
We all ran towards the TARDIS as a violent snowstorm whirled into life. That’s when I saw him. Me. Through the blizzard, I saw him stumble towards his TARDIS. I felt suddenly weak and Nardole had to drag me. He said something about the leader’s final act being to shoot me in the back. I didn’t understand. I was still staring at myself, my younger self yet older in appearance. He fumbled to open the TARDIS door. That’s when I remembered. I felt so weak back then. I had no idea what was about to happen to me. Only today, I knew. I fell on the floor and told my companions not to worry. 


	4. Chapter 4

How do you tell your companions that this is a new beginning? That story might keep repeating itself but it’s okay, as long as you got enough regeneration cycles.

  
When I woke up, I saw concern in Nardole’s eyes. Bill had been crying.  
“I told you not to worry.”   
That voice of mine. I knew it. It was not mine and yet it was mine. My mind was still foggy from the whole process, but I felt rejuvenated. When I looked down at my hands, I frowned. They looked even older than my previous incarnation. From the corner of my eye, I saw white strands of hair.   
“Help me get up,” I ordered Nardole. “Get me a mirror!”  
“What should I do first? Help you or get a mirror?”  
“I’ll fetch the mirror!” Offered Bill who seemed only too happy to leave.

  
When she came back minutes later, I was already feeling much better. She handed me the object and I had a proper glance of who I had become. I started laughing. I couldn’t stop for quite some time.  
“Here we go again!” I told Nardole and Bill.  
They exchanged a concerned glance. Of course, they couldn’t know that history had repeated itself and that I was me again. My old self was back and I wondered if my temper had changed since I first wore this face.


End file.
